disclosurebill 2010 eng

8/9/2019 DisclosureBill 2010 Eng

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Most ImmediateP.N0.37112212007-AVD.111Department of Personnel and Training(Vigilance Division)....

North Block, New Delhi, Dated the August 27, 2010

OFFICE MEMORANDUMSubject : The Public lnterest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making theDisclosure Bill. 2010.

The undersigned is directed to attach a copy (both in English (L Hindi) of the Bi lltitled "The Public lnterest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the DisclosureBill, 2010, which has been introduced in the Lok Sabha on 26.8.2010. Those who areinterested, may send their viewslsuggestions, i f any, to the undersigned at the addressgiven below, latest by 301h September, 2010:-

Shri V.K. Velukutty,Deputy Secretary(V-Ill),Department of Personnel and Training,Room No. 10-8/11, North Block,New Delhi-110001.E-mail : [email protected]

(v.K. ve~uiiutty)Deputy Secretary(Vig.lll)ToAll concerned.


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B i l l No. 97 o f 2010TH E PUBLIC INTE REST DISCLOSURE AND PROTECT fON TO

PERSO NS MAKING TH E DISCLOSURES BILL, 2010ARRANGEM ENT OF CLAUSES

CHAPTER 1

I. Short title,extent and commencem ent.2. Definitions. CHAPTER I1

PUBLIC KTEREST DISCLOSURE3. Requirements o f pub lic interest disclosure.

CHAPTER 111INQUIRYN RELATION TO PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSIIRE

4. Powers and functions o f Competent Autho rity on receipt o f pu blic interest disclosure.5. Man ers not to be inquired by Competent Autho rity.

CHAPTER IVPOWERSF COMPETENT AUTHORITY

6. Powers o f Competent Authority.7. Certain matters exempt fro m disclosure.8. Superintendence o f Competent Autho rity over appropriate machinery.9. Compe tent Autho rity to take assistance o f police authorities, etc., in certain cases.

CHAPTER VPROTECTIONO THE PERSONS MAKING DISCLOSURE10. Safeguards against victim ization.

I . Protec tion o f witnesses and other persons.12. Protec tion o f identity ofco mp laint.3 . Pow er to pass in te rim orders.

CHAPTER V IOFFEXES ND PE~ALTIES

14. Pena lty for Furnishing ncom plete or incorrect or mislead ing comments or explana tion orreport.

15. Penalty fo r revealin,% dentity o f complainant.16. Punishment for false or frivo lou s disclosure.7 Punishment to H ead o f department in certain cases.18. Offences by companies. .-19. Appeal to Hi gh Court.


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20. Barof jur isd ic t ion21. Co ur t to take cognizance. CHAPTERvn

MISCELLANEOUS22. Re po rt on disclosures.23. Protection o f action taken in po od faith.24. Pouer of ce n tr a l Government to make rules.25. Powe r o f State Government to mak e rules.26. Powe rs to make regulations.27. Not i f i c a t ion and ru les to be laid before Parliament.28. Noti f icat ion issued and rules made by State Government to be laid before State

Legislature.29. Power to remove difficulties.30. Repea l and savlngs.


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B i l l No. 97 o f 2010

THE PUBLIC INTER EST DISCLOSURE AND PRO TECTION TOPERSONS MAKING THE DISCLOSUR ES BILL, 2010

BILLto esrablrsh a mechanism to receive complaints relat ing to disclosure on any allegation o

corruption or wilfu l misuse ofpower or wil ful misuse o discretion against any publicservant an d to inqu ire or cause an inquiry into such disclostrre an d to prov ideadequote safeg~rardsagainst victimizat ion o the person making such complaint andfor matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. 3

BE t enacted by Parliam ent in the Sixty-first year of the Republ icof lndia as follows:-CHAPTER I

1. ( I ) This Act may be called as the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Short t i t l e .5 Persons Mak ing the D isclosures Act, 2010. exten t an dcommence.(2) I t extends to the whole o f nd ia except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. ment .(3) I t shall come in to force o n such date as the Central Government may, by notification

in the Off ic ia l Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for differen t provis ionso f this Act and any reference in any provision to the commencement o f this Ac t shall be

10 castr-:ed as a referent: !-?hrcorning into Fa- of that provisicn.


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22. I n this Act, unless the con text otherwise requires,-

(a) "Central Vigilance C ommission" means the Commission constituted undersub-section(I)fsection 3 of th e Central Vigilance C ommission Act. 2003; 45 of 2003 .

(b) "Competent Auth ority" means in relation to-(;) any pu blic servant referred to in sub-clause (A) ofclause(r), the Central 5Vigilance C ommission or any other authorityas the Central Government may, b ynotific atio n i n the O ffi ci al Gazene, specify i n this beha lf under this Act;(it) any pub lic servant referred to i n sub-clause (6 ) f clause (I), the StateVigilance Com missioner, ifany, or any officer o f a State Governm ent or any other

authority as the State Government may, by n otific ation in the of fic ial Gazette, 10sp ec ilj i n this behalf under this Act;( c ) "complainant" means any person who makes a complaint re lating to disclo-

sure under this Act;(d)"disclosure" means a comp laint rela ting to,-

(1 ) anattempt to commit or comm ission of a n offence under the Prevention 15ofC orru ptio n Act, 1988; 45 of 1988

(1;) wi lfu l misuse o f power or w ilfu l misuse o f discretion b y virtue o fwhich demonstrable loss is caused to the Government or demonstrable gainaccruesto the p b l i c servant;

(ii i) an-mpt to comm it or commission of a criminal offence by a public 2 6servant,made in writing or by electronic mail or electronic mail message, against

., , . the public servant and includes public interest disclosure referred to insub-section (2) o f section 3;: .: .(e).'electron ic mail.. or "ekctron ic, m ail message'. means a message or inform a- 2 5tioncreate d or iranrm ined or received on an computer, computer system, computerresource or comm unication device in clu din g attachments in text, image, audio, videoand any other electronic record, which may be transmitted with the message;

V) "Government company" means a company referred to in section 617 o ft h eCompaniesAct. 1956; 3 0 01 ' 1956

(g)"notification" meansa notification published in he Gazette ofI nd iao r, as thecase may be, the O ff ic ia l Gazette o f a State;

( h ) public authority" means any authority. body or institution fa llin g with in thejurisdiction o f he Competent Authority;,(i) "pub lic servant" means any employee of- 35

(A) the Central Government or any corporation established by or underany Central Act, any Governm ent companies, societies or local autho rities ownedor co ntrolled by the Central Go vernment and such other categories o f employ-ees as m ay be notified by the ce ntr al Governm ent, from time to time, in theOffic ial Gazette; 40

(B) he State Government or any corporation established by or under anyStateAc t,Government companies, Societies or local authorities owned or con-tro lled b y the State Government and such other categories o f employees as maybe notif ied by the State Government, from time to time, in the O ffic ial Gazene.(j).'pre scrib ed means prescribed by rules made by thecentral ~ o v e rn m e n t nd 45the State Government, as the case may be. under this Act:


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(k) "regulat~o ns" means the re gula t~on smade by the Competent Author~tyunder th ~s c t

CHAPTER llPUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE

5 3. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the provisions o f the Offi cial Secrets Requirements19 of 1923 . Act, 1923, any public servant [other than those referred to i n clauses (a) to (&o fa rt ic le :3 o f of publiclnfereslthe Constitution] or any other person including any non-governmental organisation, may d,sclosuremake a public interest disclosure before the'competen t Author ity:

Provided that any p ublic servant, bein ga person or member referred to in clause (o)or10 clause (b) or clause ( c ) or clause (d) f art ic le 33 o f th e Constitution, may make a publicdisclosure if such disclosure does not, d ire ctl y or indirectly, relate to,--

(a) the members o f he An ne d Force or any matter relating to Arm ed Forces; or(b) the members o f he Forces charged with the maintenance o f public ordei; or(c) persons em ploy ed in any bureau or oth er organisa tion established by the

15 State for purposes o f ntelligence or counter intelligence or any matter relating to suchbureau or other organisation;(d) ersons emp loyed in, or i n connection with, the telecomm unication systems

set up fo r the purposes o f any Force, bureau or organisation referred to inclauses (a)to (c) or any matter relatin g to such telecommun ication system, bureau or organisation.

20 (2) Any disclosure made under this Act shall be treated as public interest disclosurefor the purposes o f his A ct and shall be made before the Competent Authority.(3) Ev ery disclosure shall be made in good faith and the person making disclosu re

shall make a personal declaration stating that he reasonably believes that the informationdisclosed by hi m and a llegation contained therein is substantially true.

25 (4) Eve ry disclosure shall be made in writ ing or by electronic ma il or electronic ma ilmessage in accordance wi th the procedure a.may be prescribed and contain full particularsand be accompanied by supporting documents, or other material, if any.

( 5 ) The Competent Authority may, if i t deems fit, call for further information orparticulars fr om the person making the disclosure.

30 (6) o action'shall be taken on public interest disclosure by the Com petentAu thorityif he disclosure does not indicate the identity o f he complainant or public servant ma kingpub lic interest disclosure o r the iden tity o f the complainant o r public servant is foundincorrect or false.

CHAPTER Ill35 INQUIR;N RELATION TO Pl lBL lC INTEREST DISCLOSURE

4. ( 1 ) Subject to the provisions of th is Act, the Competent Aut horit y shall, on receipt Powers and" o f a public interest disclosure under section ;,- funclionr o fCompetent( a ) ascertain from the complainant or the putilic servant whether he was the Authof l t y 011person or the publ ic servant who made the disclosure or not; rerelpt ofpubl l r interes,

40 (b) conceal the identity of the complainant unless the complainant himself hasd'sC1OsU'e

revealed his identity to any other office or authority while making public interestdisclosure or in his com plaint or otherwise.


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(2 ) The Com petent Au thor ity shall, upon receipt o f he com plaint and concealing theide ntity o f he complainant, or the pu blic servant in the first instance, make discreet inquiry,i n such manner as may be prescribed, to asce rtain whether there is any basis for proceedingfurther to investigate the disclosure.

(3) I f he Competent Authority, either as a result o f he discreet inquiry, o i o n the basis 5o ft h e disclosure i tse lfwith ou t any inquiry, is oft he op in ion that the disclosure requires to beinvestigated, it shall seek comments or ekplanation or repo rt from the Head o f he Depart-ment o f the organisation or authority, b oard or corporation concerned or o f ic e concernedw it hi n su ch t i m & may be specified b y it.

(4) W hile-seekin g comments or explanations or report referred to in sub-section (3), 10the Competent Au tho rity sha ll not reveal the iden tity o f he complainant or the pub lic ser-vant and direct the He ad o f the Department of the organisation co ncerned or o ffic e con-cerned no t to reveal the identity o f hg complainant or pub lic servant:

Provided that if he Com petent Au tho rity is o f the opinio n that it has, fo r the purposeof seeking comm ents or exp lanation o r report from them under sub-section (3 ) on the pub lic 15disclosure, become.necessary to reveal the identity o f he pu blic servant to the Head o f theDepartment of the organisation or authority, board or corporation concerned or oficeconcerned, the Com petent Autho rity m ay reveal the identity o f the com plainant or pub licservant to such Head o f he Department o f he organisation or authority, board or m rpora-tio n concerned or'o fftce concerned for the said purpose. 2

(5) The Head o f he organisation or off ice concerned shall no t directly or indirectlyreveal the id en tity o f he complainant o r pub lic servant who made the disclosure.

(6) ~ h e ' c o m ~ e t e n tu t h o r i t y ,f after conducting an inquiry, is o f he opinio n that-(a) the facts and al legations contained i n the disclosu re are fr ivolo us orvexatious; or 2 s( b ) there are no su fficien t grounds for proceeding wi th the inquiry,

i t shall close the matter.(7)Afte r receipt o f he comments or explanations or report referred to in sub-section

(3), if he Competent Authority is of the opinion that such comments or explanations orreport reveals either w i l f u l misuse o f power or wi l fu l misuse o fdiscretion or substantiates 30allegations ofc orru ptio n, i t shall recomm end to the pub lic autho rity to take any one or moreo ft h e followin g measures, namely:-

(I) ini tia tin g ploceedings against the concerned pu blic servant;(ir) tak ing appropriate adm inistrative steps for redressing the loss caused to the

Governmen t as a result o f he corrup t practice or misuse o f off ice o r misuse of discre- 35tion, as the case may be;(iir) recommend to the appropriate authority or agency for init iation o f crimina l

proceedings under the relevant laws for the time being in force, if s o w arranted b y thefacts and circums tances o f the case;

(iv) recommend for taking o f corre ctive measures; 4 0(v ) take any other measures not falling under clauses (I) to ( I V ) which may be

necessary for the purpose o f this Ac t.Matters not to 5. ( 1 ) If a n y matter specified o r an issue raised in a disclosure has been determined bybe inquired by a Court or Tribunal authorised to determine the issue, after consideration of the mattersCompetentAuthority. specified or issue raised in the disclosure, the Competent Au tho rity shall not take notice of 45the disclosure to the exten t that the disclosu re seeks to reopen such issue.


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5(2) Th e Com pete nt Authority shall not enterta in or inquire into any disclosure-

(a ) in respect o f which a formal and public inquiry has been ordered under the37 o f 1 8 5 0. Public Servants (Inquiries) Act, 1850; or

( b ) in respect of a matter which has been referred fo r inquiry under the6 0 o f 1 9 52 . 5 C~ m m is s io n s o f ln q u i r y A c t , 952.

(3) The Com pete nt Autho rity shall not investigate, an y disclosure involving anallegation, if th e com plaint is made afler the expiry of f ive years from the date o n which theaction complained against is alleged to have taken place.

(4 ) Nothing in this Act shall be construed a s empowe ring the Com petent Authority to(0 ques tion , in any inquiry under th is Act, any b on aj id e ac t ion or b on aj id e d i s cret ion(including administrative or statutory discretion) exercised in di scha rgeo fduty by the employee.

CHAPTERlVPOWERSF COMPETEN T AUTHORITY

6. (1) Without prejudice to the powers conferred upon the Com pete nt Authority under Powers o f15 any other law for the time being in force, the Competent Authority, may require, for the C o m p e l e n lAuthority.purpose of any inquiry any public servant or any other person who in its opinion shall be

able to furnish information or produce documents relevant to the inquiry or assist in theinquiry, to furnish any such information or produce a ny such document as may be ne cessaryfor the said purpose.

2 0 (2) For the purpose of any such inquiry (including the preliminary inquiry), theCom pete nt Authority shall have all the powe rs of a civil court while trying a suit under the5 of 1908. Co de of Civil Procedure, 190 8, in res pe cto fth e followingm atters, namely:-

(a ) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and exam ining himon oath;25 (b) requiring the discove ry and production of any docum ent;

(c) receiving evide nce on affidavits;(4 equisitioning any public record or cop y thereof from any Co urt or office;(e ) ssuing comm issions for the examination of witnesses or documents;V) such other man ers as may be prescribed.

30 (3) The C ompe tent Authority shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purpose of2 of 1974 . sect ion 195 and Chapter XXVl of the Cod e of Cr iminal Procedure, 1973, and everyproceed ing before the Com pete nt Authority shall be deemed to be a judicial p roceedin g4 5 o f 1 8 6 0 . within th e meaning o f sections 19 3 and 22 8 and for the purposes of section 196 of the Indian

Penal Code.(4 ) Subjec t to the provisions of section 7, no obligation to maintain secrecy or other

restriction upon the disclosure of information obtained by or furnished to the Govern ment or19 of 1923 any public servant, whether imposed by the Official Secrets Act, 1923 or any other law for the

time being in force, shall be claimed by any public servant in the proceedings before theCom petent Authority or any person or age ncy authorised by it in writing and the Govern-40 ment o r an y public servant shall not be entitled in relation to any such inquiry, to any suchprivilege in respe ct of the production of documen ts or the giving of evidence as is allowedby any enactment or by any rules made thereunder:

Provided that the Competent Authority. while exercising such powers of the CivilCourt, shall take steps as necessary to ensure that the identity of the person making45 complaint has not been revealed or comp ron~ ised


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Cer ta in ma l -ters exemptfrom disclosure.

Superinlen-dence o fCampelen lAuthorityover appropri-at e machinery

CompetenlAuthority totake assistanceof policeauthorities,e lc , in certa incases.

Safeguardsagainslvictimisation.

7 . 1 ) N o person shall be required or be authorised b y virtue o f provisions containedin this Act to furnish any such inform atio n or answer any such question or produce anydocument or information or render any other assistance in the inq uiry under this Act if suchquestion or document or information is likely to prejudicially affect the interest of thesovereignty and integrity of India, the security o f the State, friend ly relations with foreignState, pu blic order, decency or m ora lity or in relatio n to contempt o f court, defamation orincitement to an offence,-

(a )as mig ht involve the disclosure o f proceedings o f he Cabinet o f he Unio nGovernment or any Committee of th e Cabinet;( b )as mig ht invo lve the disclosure of proceedings o f the Cabinet o f the State

Government or any Committee of that Cabinet,and for the purpose o f this sub-section, a certificate issued by the Secretary to theGovernment o f nd ia or the Secretary to the State Government, as the case may be, or,any authority so authorised by the Central or State Government certifyin g that anyinformation, answer or po rtion o f a docum ent is o f he nature specified in clause (a) orclause ( b ) ,shall be bind ing and conclusive.(2) Subject to the provisions o f sub-section ( I ) , no person shall be compelled for the

purposes of inq uir y under this Act to give any evidence or produce any document which hecou ld no t be compelled to give or produce in proceedings before a court.8. ( I ) Every pu blic autho rity shall, for the purposes o f dealing or inq uiry into thedisclosures sent to i t under sub-section (3) of section 4, create an appropriate machinery for

the said purpose.

(2) The Competent Authority shall exercise superintendence over the working ofmachinery created under sub-section ( I ) for the purposes o f dealing or in quiry into thedisclosures and give such directions for its proper functioning, from time to time, as it mayconsider necessary.

9. For the purpose o f making discreet inqu iry or obtainin g information from theorganisation concerned, the Competent Auth ority shall be authorised to take assistance o fthe De lh i Special Po lice Establishmen t or the po lice authorities, or any other autho rity as maybe considered necessary, to render al l assistance to com plete the in qu iry w ith in the specifiedtime pursuant to the disclosure received b y the Competent Autho rity.

CHAPTER V

10. ( I ) The Central Government shall ensure that no person or a public servant whohas made a disclosure under this Ac t is victimised by in itia tio n o f any proceedings orotherwise me rely on the ground that such person or a pu blic servant had made a disclosureor rendered assistance in inqu iry under this Act.

(2) I f any person is being victimised or like ly to be victimiscd o n the ground that hehad filed a complain t or made disclosure or rendered assistance in in quiry under this Act, hemay fi le an application before the Co mpetent Auth ority seeking redress in the matter, andsuch authority shall take such action, as deemed fit and may give suitable directions to theconcerne d pu bli c servan t o r the pub lic authority, as the case may be, to protect such personfrom b eing victimised or avoid his victimisation.

(3) Every direction g iven under sub-section ( 1 ) by the Competent Au thorit y shall bebinding upon the public servant or the public authority against whom the allegation ofvictim isatio n has been proved.


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7(4 ) Notwith standing any thing contained in any other law for the time being in force,

the power to give directions under sub-section ( 2 ) , in relation to a public servant, shallinclude the power to direct the restoration o ft he public servant mak ing the disclosure, to thesrarzw quo ante.

5 11. If the Competent Authority either on the application of the complainant, or Pratectlon o fwitnesses, or on the basis of information gathered, is of the opinion that either the complainant o r

K'tne"es "ldother persons .public servant o r the witnesses or an y person rendering assistance for inquiry under this Act

need protection, the C om pete nt Authority s hall issue appropriate directions to the con -cerned G ove rnm ent authorities (including police) which shall take necessary steps, through

10 its agencies, to protect such complainant or public servant or persons concerned.12. The Competent Authority shall, notwithstanding any law for the time being in P r o t e e t i o n a f

force , concea l , a s r equi red under th is Ac t , the iden t i ty o f the compla inant and the O fc o n l p l a i n a l ~ t .docum ents o r information furnished by him, for the purposes of enquiry under this Act,unless so decided otherwise by the Competent Authority itself or it became necessary to

15 reveal or produce th e sam e by virtue of the order of the court.13. Th e Co mpete nt Authority, at any time after the making o f disclosure by the Power to passcompl ainant o r public servant, if it is of th e opinion that any corrupt practice required to be Orders.

stopped du ring the continuation of any inquiry for the said purpose m ay pass such interimord ers as it may d eem tit, to prevent the immediate stoppag e of such practice.

20 CHAPTERVIOFFENCESN D PEN4LTlES

14.Where the CompetentAuthority, at th e time ofexa min ing the report or explanations P e n a l l y f o ror report referred to in sub-section (3 ) of section 4 on thecom plain t submitted by organisations f ' ~ ' " ' ~ h ' " s in -complele or in-or officials concerned , is of th e opinion that the organisations or officials concerned , without cnrrsc, rnis-25 ny reasanable cause, has not furnisKed the report within the specified time o r mola,fidely l e a d i r l grefused to submit the report or know insly given incomplete, incorrect or misleading or false nlents o r ex-report or destroyed record or information which was the subj ect o f the disclosure or ob- p la na r io l l o rstructed in any man ner in furnishing the report, it shall impose a penalty w hich may exten d totwo hundred fifty rupees for each day till report is furnished, so, howevcr, the total amount30 of such penalty s hall not excecd fifty thousand rupees:

Provided that no penalty shall be imposed against any person unless he has beengiven an opportunity of being heard.

15.Any person, who negligently or ~nala,fidelyeveals the identity o f a com plainant pe na l t ? f o rshall, without prejudice to the other provisions of th is Act, be punishable with irnprisonment r e ve a l i ns35 for a term which may extend up to three years and also to fine which may extend up to fifty ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i

thousand rupees.16. Any person who makes any disclosure rnala,fidely and knowinsly that it was P u n i ~ h r n e n tincorrect or fals e or mi sleading shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which m ay fo r fa's' Orf r ivolousextend up t o two years and also to tine which may extend up t o thirty thousand rupees. d,sc losure40 17. ( 1 ) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by any Department of Puni r h r ne n l ro

Govern ment, the Head of thc Department shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and )''ad o fshall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless he proves that the ~~~~~~L~~~~~offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligencc toprevent the commission of such offence.

4 5 (2 ) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section ( I ) , where an offence underthis Act has been committed by a Department of Government and it is proved that theoffence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable, suchofficer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceed edagainst and punished accordingly.


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Offences h)co rnpan l cs .

Appea l toHlgh Court.

Bar of jurtsd~c-f lU"

8I S . ( I ) Where an offence under this A ct has been committed b y a company, every

person who at the time the offence was committed was i n charge of, and was responsible tothe company fo r the conduct o f the business o ft h e comp any as we ll as the company, shallbe deemed to be guilt y o f the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against andpunished accordingly: 5

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such personliable to any punishment provided in this Act, ifhe proves that the offence was committedwith out his knowled ge or that he has exercised all due d il i~ e n c eo prevent the comm issiono f such offence.

(2) No twith stan ding anything contained in sub-section (I) , where an offence under (0this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has beencom mitte d wi th the consent or connivance of, or is attributab le to, any neglect on the part o fany director, manager, secretary or other of fic er of the company, such director, manager.secretary or other offic er shall also be deemed to be gu ilt y o f he offence and shall be liableto be proceeded against and punished accordingly. If

Ex pla na tio n- For the purposes o f this section,-(a) "company" means any body corporate and includes a firm or other associa-

t ion o f indiv iduals: and( h ) director", in relation to a firm, means a partner in he firm.

19. A ny person aggr ieved by any order o f he Competent ~ u t h o r i t )elating to imp o- 20sition ofp ena lty under section 14 or section 15 may prefer an appeal to the Hi gh C ou ri wi thi na period o f sixty days from the date o f he order appealed against:

Provided that the H igh C ourt m ay entertain the appeal after the expiry o f he saidperiod o f sixty days, if t is satisfied that theapp ellant was prevented by suff icient cause frompreferring the appeal in ime. 25

E x p l a n a t i o n . For the purposes of this section, the "High Court" means the HighCo urt w ith in whose jurisdic tion the cause o f action arose.

20. N o ci vi l court shall hav ejuris dictio n i n respect of any matter which the CompetentAu thority is empowered b y or under this A ct to determine and no injun ction shall begrantedby any cou rt or other a uthority in respect o f any action taken o r to be taken i n pursuance o f 3 0any power conferred by or under this Act.

21. ( I ) N o co& shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this A ct or therules or regulations made thereunder, save on a com plaint made by the Competent Au tho rityor any officer or person authorised by it.

(3) N o court inferior to that o f a Chie f Metrop ol i tan Magistrate or a Chief(Judicia1 3 5Mag istrate shall try any offence punishable under this Ac t.

CHAPTERVI IM I S C E L L ~ N E ~ U S

22. (1) The Competent Aut hority shall prepare a consolidated annual report o f theperformance o f ts activities i n such form as may be prescribed and forward it to the Central 4Governm ent or State Governm ent, as the case may be.

(3) On receipt of the annual report under sub-section (I), the Central Government orState Government, as the case may be, shall cause a copy thereof to be laid before eachHou se o f Parliament, or the State Legislature, as the case may be:

Provided that where any other law for the time being i n force provides preparing o f 45such annual report b y the Competent Autho rity, then the said annual report shall contain aseparate part on the performance o f activitie s under this Ac t by the Competent Auth ority.


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23. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the ~ o 6 ~ : t e n t P r o t e c l i o n o fAuthority or against any officer, em ploy ee, agency or person acting on its behalf, it ? respect r ak e"10 good faithof anything which is in good faith don e or intended to be don e under this Act. .;

24. ( I ) T he ce nt ra l Governm ent may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules P o w e r a f5 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act. C e n t r a lG o v e r n m e n t~~ ~

(2) n particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such to rules.rules may provide for all or any of th e following matters, namely:-(a) he procedure for disclosure by writing or appropriate electronic means un-

der sub-section (4) f section 3;10 ( b ) he manner in which the discreet inquiry shall be made by the CompetentAuthority under sub-section (2)of section 4 ;

(c) the additional m atter in respect of wh ich the C om peten t Authority may exer-cise the powers of a civil court under clause V) of sub-section (2)of section 6 ;

(d) the form of annual report under sub section ( I ) of section 22;( e )any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.I5 25. Th e State Governmen t m ay, by notification in the Official Gaze tte, make rules for Power o f S t a te

the ~ u r ~ o s ef carmine out the ~r ov isi on s f this Act . Government to, - make rules.26. Th e Comp etent Authority may, with the previous approval o f the Central P o w e r s t oGovernment or the State Government, as the case may be, by notification in the Oficial r e g u l a -Gaz ette, make regulations not inconsistent with the provision o ft h e Act and the rules made """'

20 thereunder to provide for all matters for which provision is expedient for the purposes ofgiving effect to the provisions o f this Act.

27. Every notification issued and every rule made by the Central Government and Notificationevery regulation made by the Co mp etent Authority under this Act shall be laid, as soon as cErkop:;ma y be after it is issued or made, befo re each House of Parliame nt, while it is in ses sio n, for li,m,,,,

2 5 a total period o f thirty days which may be com prised in one session or in two o r moresuccessive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following thesession or the successive sessions afore said, both H ouses agree in making any modificationin the notification o r the rule or the regulation, or both Houses a gree that the notification orthe rule or the regulation should not be made, the notification or the rule or the regulation

30 shall thereafter have effect only in such m odified form or be o f n o effect, as the case may be;so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to thevalidity of anything previously done under that notification or rule or regulation.

28. Every notification issued by a State Government and every rule made by a State N o l l f i c a t ~ o nGovernm ent. and eve ry regulation made by the C omp etent Authority under this Act sh all be 'Ss"ed and35 laid, as soon as may be after it is issued, before the State Legislature. rules made byS t a t e

G o v e r n m u n tto be laidbefore StareLegislalure.

29. ( 1 ) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions o fth is Act, the Central Power toGovernment may, by order, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, remove the 'em"ved i f l i c u l t ~ e sdifficulty:

Provided that no such ord er shall be made after the expiry of a period o f three years40 from the date of the comm encement of this Act.(2)Every o rder m ade ilnder this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid

before each House of Parliament.


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Repeal and 30. ( 1 ) Th e Government of India, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pen-savtngs sions (De partm ent of Personnel and Training) Resolution No. 37111212002-AVD-111 dated the2 1st April, 2004 as amended vide Resolution of even number, dated the 29 th Ap ril, 20 04 ishereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said 5Resolution be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act.


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STATEMENT OF OBJEC TSAN D REASONSCo rru pti or~ s a social evil which prevents prope r and balanced social growth and

economic development. One of the impediments felt in eliminating corruption in theGovernment and the public sector undertakings is lack of adequate protection to thecomplainants reporting the corruption o r wilful misuse ofpow er or wilful misuse ofdiscretionwhich causes dem onstrable loss to the Gove rnment o r commission of a criminal offence bya public servant.

2. The Law Commission of India had in its 179th Report, inreralia, recommendedformulation of a specific legislation titled "The public lnterest Disclosure (Protection ofInformers) Bill, 2002 t o encourage disclosure o f information regarding c orruption or mal-administration by public servants and to provide protection to such complainants. TheSecond Administrative Reforms Commission in its 4th Report on "Ethics in Governance"has also recommended formulation of a legislation for providing protection to whistle-blowers. The Go vernm ent o f India had issued a Resolution No . 89, dated the 21 stA pri l,20 04authorising the Cen tral Vigilance Co mm ission as the designated agency to receiv e writtencomplaints from whistle-blowers. The said Resolution also, inter alia, provides for theprotection to the whistle-blowers from harassment, and keeping the identity of whistle-blowers concealed. I t has been felt that the persons who report the corruption or wilfulmisuse of power or wilful misuse of discretion which causes demonstrable loss to theGovernment or commission of a criminal offence by a public servant need statutory protectionas protection given to them by the said Resolution of the Govern ment of India would notsu f f~ce .

3. In view o f the position stated in the foreg oing paragraph s, it has been dec ided toenact a standalone legislation to, inier alia, provide-

(a) for bringing within the sco p eo ft h e Bill, public servants being theem ployeeso ft h e Central Government or the State Government or any corporation established byor under any Central Act or any State Act, G overnment Com panies, Societies or localauthorities ow ned or controlled by the Cen tral Go vernm ent or the State Go vernm entand such other categories ofe mplo yee s as may be notified by the Central Governmentor, as thecas em ay be. the State Government, from time to time, in the Ofiicial Gazette;

(b) adequate protection to the persons reporting corruption or wilful m isuse ofpower or wilful misuse ofd iscretio n which causes demonstrable loss to the Governmentor commission of a criminal offence by a public servan t;

(c) a regular mechanism to encourage such person to disclose the informationon corruption or wilful misuse of power or wilful misuse of discretion by publicservants or com mission of a criminal offence;

(d) the procedure to inquirt. or cause to inquire into such disclosure and toprovide adequate safeguards against victimisation of the whistle-blower, that is theperson making such disclosure;

(e) safegu ards against victimisation o f the person reporting matters regardingthe corruption by a public servant;

(f) punishment for rere eling the identity of a complainant, negligently or malaJi


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I24 . Th e no tes on clal ises explain in detai l the provis ions of the Bil l5 . T h e Bill see ks to achiev e the aforesaid object ives .

NEW DELHI;The 12rh August, 20 10

PRITHVIRA J CHAVAN


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Notes on clausesClarlse 1 -This clause provides for the short title, extent and comm encemen t of th e

proposed legislation. It is proposed not to extend the provisions of th e proposed legislationto the State of Jamm u and Kashmir. It further proposed to em pow er the Central Governmentto bring it into force on su ch date as it may appo int by notification in the of fi ci al G azette andthe Ce ntral Gov ern me nt may appo int different dates for different provision s of the Ac t.

Clause 2.-This claus e defines various expr essions used in the proposed legislationwhich, inter alia, include the expressions "Central Vigilance Commission", "CompetentAuthority", "disclosure", "electronic mail" or "electr onic mail message", "Governmentcompany", "public authority" and "public servant".

Clause :.-This clause lays down the requiremen ts of public interest disclosure. Itprovides that notwithstanding anything contained in the provisions o f the Official S ecretsAct, 1923, any public servant [other than those referred to in clauses (a) to (d) of article 3 3of the Constitution] or any other person including any non-governmental organisation,may m ake a public interest disclosure before the Competent Authority.

It further provides that any public servant, being a person o r mem ber referred to inclause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c) or clause (d) of article 3 3 o ft h e Constitution, may m akea public disclosure if suc h disclosure doe s not, directly or indirectly, relate to, the mem bersof the Armed Force o r any matter relating to Armed F orces; the members o f the Force scharged with the maintenance of public order; persons employed in any bureau or otherorganisation established by the State for purposes o f intelligence or co unter intelligence orany matter relating to such bureau or other organisation, persons employed in, or inconnection with, the telecommunication systems set up for the purposes of any Force,bureau o r orz anis atio n or any matter relating to such telecomm unication sy stem, bureau ororganisat ion.

It further provides that any disclosure made under the prop osed legislation shall betreated as public interest disclosure to be mad e before the Competent Authority which isma de in good faith and the person making suc h disclosure shall make ape rs on al declarationstating that he reasonably believes that the information disclosed by him and allegationcontained therein is substantially true.

It further provides that every disclosu re shall be made in writing or by electronic mailor electronic mail messag e in acco rdan ce with the procedu re a s may be prescribed whichshall contain full particulars and be accomp anied by supporting docum ents, or othe rmaterial and the C ompeten t Authority may, if it deems fit, call for further information o rparticulars from the person making such disclosure.

I t also provides that no action will be taken on public interest disclosure by theCom petent Authority if the disclosure d oes not indicate the identity of the complainant o rpublic servant making public interest disclosure or the identity of th e comp lainant or publicservan t is found inibrre ct or false.

Clarlse 4.- his t l au se provides for the pow ers and functions of the CompetentAu tho rity on receipt o f public interest disclosure. It provides that the Com petent Authorityshall, on receipt o f a public interest disclosure, ascertain from the com plainant or the publicservant whether he was the person or the public servant who made the disclosure or notand conceal the identity of the comp lainant unless the complainan t hims elfh as revealed hisidentity to any other office or authority while makin g public interest disc!osure or in hiscomp!aint or otherwise.


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14It further provides that the Co mp ete nt Authority, upon the receipt of the complaint

and concealing the identity of the comp lainant, or the public servant in the first instance.mak e discree t inquiry, in such manne r as may be prescribe d, to ascertain w hether there isany basis for proceeding further to investigate the disclosure and in case the CompetentAuthority , ei ther as a resul t o f t h e discreet inquiry , or on the basis o f the disclosure i tselfwithout an y inquiry, is of t h e opin ion that the disclosure re quires t o be investigated, it shallseek the comm ents o r exp lanat ion or report f rom the Head o f the Depar tment o f theorganisation o r authority, board or corpo ration concerned o r office concerned within suchtim e as may specified by it and while doing so, the com petent authority will not reveal theident ity o f the complainant or the public servant . However, i f th ec om pe te nt Authori ty is ofthe opinio n that i t has, for the purpose o f seekin g comments o r explanat ion or report f romthe He ad of the Depa rtment o f the organisation o r authority, board o r corporation concernedor office concerned may reveal the identity of the complainant or public servant to suchHea d o f the Depa rtmen t o f t h e organisat ion or authori ty , board o r corporat ion concerned o roff ice concerned.

[t further provides tha t the Com petent Authority, if ahe r conducting an inquiry is o fthe opinion that, the facts and allegations contained in the disclosure are frivolous orvex atiou s; or there ar e no sufficient gro un ds for proc eed ing with the inquiry, it shall cl os ethe matter .

It als o provides that a he r receipt oft he co mm ents or explanations o r report referred toin sub-clause (3), if the Com petent Authori ty is o f the opinion that such c omm snts orexplanation s or repo rt reveals either wilful misuse o f power or wilful misuse of discretion o rsubstantiates allegations of corruption, it shall recom mend to the public authority, forini t iat ing proceedings against the concerned public servant ; or , for taking appropriateadministrat ive ste ps for redressing the loss caused to the Gov ernm ent as a resul t of thecorrupt pract ice or misuse of off ice or misuse of discret ion, as the case may be; or , torecom mend the appropriate authority or agency for initiation of crim ina l proceeding s underth e relevant laws for the time being in force, if so warranted by the facts and circums tanceso f the ca se; or , recommend for taking of correct ive measures; or , any other appropriatemeasure which may be necessary for the purposes of the proposed legislation.

Clause 5 . hi s clause provide s for the matters not be inquired by the Com petentAuthority. It provides that if an y matter specified or an issue raised in a disclosure ha s beendetermined by a Court or Tribunal authorised t o determine the issue, a he r considerat ion ofthe matters specified w ssue raised in the disclosure, the Co mp ete nt Authority shall nottake not ice of such dis clo sw e to the extent that the said disclosure seeks to reopen suchissue.

It fu nh cr provides that th e Co mp eten t Authority shall not entertain o r inquire intoan y disclosure, in respect o f which a formal and pu blic inquiry has been ordered under thePublic Servants ( inquiries) Act , 1850 or in respect o f a matter which has been referred forinquiryu nder the Comm issions of InquiryAct , 1952 and shall not investigate, any disclosureinvolving an al legat ion, i f th e complaint is made ah er the expiry of f ive years from the dateon which the act ion complained against is al leged tp hav e taken place.

I t also provides that nothing in the proposed legislat ion shai l be construed asempowering the Competent Authori ty to quest ion, in any inquiry under the proposedlegislat ion, any bono-/ide act ion or d iscre t ion ( includ ing admin is t ra t ive o r s ta tu torydiscretion) exercise d in discharge of duty by the employee.

Clause 6.-This clause lays down the powers of th e co m pe te nt Authority. It providesthat without prqiudice to the powe rs conferred upon the Com pet ent Authority under anyothe r law for the time being in force, the Com petent Authority. may require, for the purposeo f any inquiry any public servant or any other person w ho in its opinion shall be able tofurnish in form ation or prod uce docu me nts releva nt to the inquiry or assist in the inquiry, to


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I SI t further provides that for the purpose o fa ny such inquiry (includ ing the preliminaryinquiry), the Competent Au thority shall have all the powers o f a ci v il court while t ryin g a

suit under the Code o f c i v i l Procedure, 1908 and that a ll proceedings under the proposedlegis lation shall be deemed to be proceedings fo r the purposes o f scctions 193 and228 o f helndian Penal C odeand fo r section 195 a n d ~ h a ~ t e r x x ~ lf hecode o fc r im ina lProcedure, 1973.I t further provides that subject to the provisions ofclause 7, no obligation to m aintainsecrecy or other res triction upon the disclosure o f nformation obtained by or furnished tothe Government or any publ ic servant, whether imposed b y the Off ic ia l Secrets Act, 1923 orany other law fo r the time being i n force, shall be claimed by any pub lic servant in theproceedings before the Competent Authority or any person or agency authoriscd by it i nwrit ing and the Government or any public servant shall not be entitled in relat ion to any

such inquiry, to any such privilege i n respect o f he production o f documents or the g iv in go f evidence as is allowed b y any enactment or by any rules made thereunder.I t also provides that the Competent Authority, wh ile exercising the powers o f he C iv ilCourt, shall take steps as necessary to ensure that the iden tity o f he person making com plain thas no t been revealed o r compromised.Clause 7.-This clause deals wi thcertain matters exempted 60 m disclosure. I t providesthat no person shall be requ ired or be authorised'by virtue o f provisions contained in theproposed legislation to furnish any such information or answer any such question orproduce any document or info rmation or render any other assistance in the inquiry underthe proposed legislation, if such question or document or informa tion is like ly to prejudicially

affect the interest o f the sovereignty and integ rity o f India, the security o f the State,friendly relations with foreign State, public order, decency or morality or in relation tocontempt o f court, defamation or incitement to an offence, w hic h might in volves thedisclosure o f proceedings of th e Cabinet of th e U ni on Government and Cabinet o ft he Stateor any Committee o f he Cabinet.

I t further provides that a certificate issued by a Secretary to the Govcrnment o f nd iaor the Secretary to the State Government, as the case may be, or, any autho rity so authorisedby the Central or State Government certify ing that any information, answer o r po rtion o f adocument is o f he nature specified wh ich mig ht involves the disclosure o f proceedings o fthe Cabinet o f the U nio n Government and Cabinet o f the State or any Committee o f heCabinet shall be bin din g and conclusive.It also provides that no person shall be compelled for the purposes o f nquiry underthe proposed legislation to give any evidenceor produce any document wh ich hecould not

be compe lled to give or produce i n proceedings before a court.Clause 8.-This clause provides fo r the superintendence o f Competent Auth or ityover appropriate machinery. I t provides that every public au thority shall, for the purposeso f dealing or inqu iry into the disclosures sent to i t under sub-clause (3) o f clause 4, createappropriate machinery for the said purposc and shall exercise superintendence over the

workin g ofsuch machinery and give suchdirections fo r its proper functioning, from time totime, as it may consider necessary.Clause 9.- Thi s clause makes provisions for the Competent Autho rit y to takeassistance of po lice authorities i n certain cases. I t provides that for the purpose o f makingdiscreet inquiry or obtaining in form ation from the organisation concerned, the CompetentAu tho rity shall be authorised to take assistance o f the D e lh i Special Police Establishment

or the po lic e authorities, o r any other authority as may be considered necessary, to rcndera ll assistance to complete the inquir y wi th in the specified time pursuant to the disclosurereceived by the competent authority.Clause 10.-This clause empowers by providingsafeguards against victim ization. It


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16has made a disclosure under the proposed legislation i s victim ized b y in itiatio n o f anyproceedings or otherwise merely on the ground that such person or a pu blic servant hadmade a disclosure or rendered assistance i n inq uiry under the proposed legislation and i fany person is bein g vic tim ize d or l ik el y to be victimize d o n the ground that he had filed acom plaint or made disclosure or rendered assistance in inquiry. he ma y fi le an applicationbefo re the Competent A vth or ity seeking redress in the matter, and such auth ority wh iletakin g an action may glve suitable dire ctions to the concerned pu blic servant or the pu blicautho rity, as the case ma y be, to protect such person from be ing victim ized or avo id hisvictimization.

I t further prov ides that eve ry directio n given under sub-clause ( I ) by the CompetentAu tho r i ty shall be binding upon the p ubl ic servant or the p ubl ic author i ty zgainst w l i o ~ nthe a l legation o f vict imiza tion has been proved and notwithstanding anything contained inany other law fo r the time bein g in force, the powe r to giv e directions under sub-clause (2).in relation to a pu blic servant, shall include the pow er to direct the restoration o ft h e p ublicservant making the disclosure, to the starus quo ante.

Clause I I -This clause provides for P rotection o f witnesses and other persons. Itprovides that if the Competent Autho rity either on the application o f hc complainant, orwitnesses. o r on the basis o f inform ation gathered, is o f the opinio n that either thecom plainant o r pu blic servant o r the witnesses o r any person rend ering assistance forinq uiry under the proposed legislation need protection, the Com pete nl Au tho rity shallissue appropriate direc tions to the concerned Government authorities, inc lud ing police.w hic h sha ll take necessary steps to protect such complainant or pu blic servant o r personsconcerned.

Clause 12.-This clause provides for protection o f den tity ofcomp lainant. I t providesthat the Competent Au tho rity shall, notwithstanding anything co ntairieii in any other lawfor the time bein g in force, conceal, the iden tity o f he com plainant and the docutnents orinfo rm atio n furnished by him , for the purposes o f enquiry, unless so decided otherwise bythe Com petent Auth or ity its el f or it became necessary to reveal or produce the same byv i r tue o f he order o f th e court .

Clause 13.-This clausc empowers the Com petent A utho rity t o pass int er im orde1.s.I t provides that the Competent Au thority, at any time aRer the ma kin g ofd isc los ure by thecomplainant o r pu bl ic servant, if t is o f he opinion that any corrup t practice required to bestopped during the continuation o f any in qu iry for the said purpose may pass such inte rimorde rs as it may deem ft, to p revent the imme diate stoppage o fs u c h practice.

Cluuse 14.-This clause makes prov ision for penalty for furnish ing incomplete orincorrect or m islead ing comments or explana tion or report. I t prov ides that the CompetentAu thority, at the time o f exam ining the report or explanations o r report on the com plaintsubm ined by organisations or off icia ls concerned, is o f he op inio n that the organisationsor o f i c i a l s concerned, without any reasonable cause, has not furnished the report wit hi nthespe cif ied t ime or malafidely refused to submit the'report or kn ow ing ly given incomplete,incorrect or m islead ing or false report or destroyed record or info rm atio n wh ich was thesubject o f he disclosure or obstructed in any manner in furnishing the report, shall imposea pen alty w hic h may extend to tw o hundred fifty rupees for each day ti l l repo rt is furnished,however, the total amount o f such penalty not to exceed f i t ly thousand rupees but nopenalty shal l be imposed against any person without giv ing h im an oppo rtunity o f bcin gheard.

Clause 15.- Th is clause contains tlte p ro v ~ s io nb r penal ly for reveal ing ident ity o fcomplainant. It provides that any person, who neglige~ently r molaj idely reveals theident i ty o f a complainant shal l be punishable with imprisonment for a term which mayextend up to three years and also !o fine which may extend up ro fifiy thousand rupees.


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17incorrect or false or misleading shall be punishable wit h imprisonment fo r a term w hic h mayextend up to tw o years and also to fine w hi ch may extend up to t hirty thousand rupees.

Clause 17.-This clause provides fo r punishment to the Head o f he Department inthe Government. I t provides that where an offence under the proposed leg islatio n has beencom mitted b y any Department o f the Government, the Head o f the Department shall bedeemed to be gu ilty o f he offence and shall be l iable to be proceeded against and punishedaccordingly unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge orthat he exercised a ll due dil igenc e to prevent the co mm ission o f such offence.

I t further provides that if an offence has been comm itted by a Department ofG ovem men tand i t is proved that the offence has been eom mitted w ith the consent or connivance o f, o ris attributable to any other officer, such offic er shall also be deemed to be gu ilty o f thatoffence and sha ll be liable to be proeeeded against and punished accordingly.

('lo?~,se8.---This clause contains provis ions for offences b y companies. It providesIllat where an oflenc c under the proposed legislalion has been com mitted by a company,every person directly in cl i :~rgeof, and responsible to, the company f or the con duct o f itsbusiness at the time o f comm ission o f offence shall be deemed to be guilty o f the ottenceand shall be liab le to be proccedcd against and pl~ nis he d cco rdingly unless he proves thatthe offence was committed without his knowledge or that lie exercised a ll due dilige nce toprevent the com mission o f such ottence. It also provides that where any oflenc e under theproposed legislat io~iias becn co ~n m itte d ith thc consent or connivance of, o r attributableto any ~i eg le ct n the part of. any director, nianager, secretary or other of ic e r clfthecompany,such director, manager. sec retan or other officer sha ll also tie deemed to be gu ilt y o f thatoffence and shall be l iable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. 'Thet : , r~~Ian[rr iono thc clause seeks to de fine the terms "com pany" and "director".

Clause 19.-This clause makes provisio n for fi l in g o f a n appeal to the H ig h Court. I tpro vide s that any person aggrieved by an order made by the Competent Autho rity rela tingto imposi t ion o f penalty, for furnish ing incomp lete or incorrect or misleading comments orexplanation or report under clause 14 or for revealing ide ntity ofc om pla ina nt under clause15 may prefer an appeal to the H ig h Court within a period o f sixty days fro m the date o f heorder.

I t further provides that the H ig h Court may entertain an appeal after the e xpiry o f hesaid period o f sixty days, if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for notpreferring the appeal wit hi n the said p eriod.

Clouse20.-This clause provides for exclusion ofju risdic tion o fc iv il courts. It providesthat no c iv i l court shal l have jurisdic t ion i n respect o f any matter which the Com pelentAutho rity is empow ered by or under the proposed legislation to determ ineand no injun ctionsha ll be granted b y any court or other authority i n respect of a ny action taken or to be takenin pursuance o f any po we r conferred by or under the proposed legislation.

Clouse 21.-This clause provides for courts to take cognizance o f an offence. I tprovides that no court sliall take cognizance o f any offence punishable under proposedlegislation, save on a comp laint made by the Competent Au tho rity or any offic er o r personauthorised by i t and no court in ferior to that o f a Ch ief Metropol i tan M agistrate o r a Ch iefJudicial Magistrate shall try any offence punishable under the proposed legislation,

Clause 22.-This clause seeks to empow er the Competent Autho rity to prepare arcpo rt o n disclosures. I t provides that the C ompetent Au tho rity shall prepare a consolidatedannual report of t h e performance o f ts activit ies i n such fo rm as may be prescribed by theCentral Government and forwa rd i t to the Central Government or State Government, as thecase may be, whic h w ou ld be laid. before Parliament by the Centra l Government and; beforeState Leg islature by the State Government.

I t urther provides that if a n y other law for the time being in force provides preparm2


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18a separate part on the performance of activities under the proposed legislation by theCompetent Authority.

Clouse 23.-This clause provides for protection o f action taken in good faith. Itprovides tha t no suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the CompetentAuthority or against any officer, employee, agency or person acting on its behalf, forany thing which is in good faith done or intended to be done under the proposed legislation.

Clause 24.-This clause confers power on the Central Government to make rules. Itprovides that the Central G overnment may, by notification in the Official Gaze ne, make rulesto carry ou t the provisions of the proposed legislation. Sub-clause (2) enumerates mattersfor which such rules may be made by the Central Government.Clause 25.-This clause confers power on the State Governm ent to make rules. Itprovides that the State Governm ent may, by notification in the Official Gazene, mak e rules

for the purpose of carrying ou t the provisions o f the proposed legislation.Clause 26.-This clause empowers the Com petentAuthority to make regulations. Itprovidcs that the Competent Authority may, with the previous approval of the CentralGovernm ent o r the State Government, as the case may be, by notification in the OfficialGazette. make regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of the proposed legislationand for giving effect to the provisions of the proposed legislation.Clause 27.-This clause prov ides for laying of rules, regu lations and notifications

before Parliament. It provides that every rule made and every notification issued by theCentral Government and every regulation made by the Competent Authority under theproposed legislation shall be laid before each House of Parliament.Clause 28.-This clause provides for laying of rules, regulations and notificationsbefore the S tate Legislature. It prov ides that every rule made and every notification issuedby the State Governm ent and every regulation made by the Com petent Authority under the

proposed legislation shall be laid before the State Legislature.Clause 29.-This clause makes provision for power to remove difficulties. It providesthat if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of the proposed legislation, theCentral Government may, by order, not ~nconsistentwith the provisions o f the proposedlegislation, remove the difficulty.It prov ides that no such order shall be made aRer the expiry of a period of three yearsfrom the date o f com mencem ent of the proposed legislation. It also provides that everyorder under this clause shall. as soon as may be after it is mad e, be laid before each Houseo f Parliament.Clause 30.-This clause relates to the repeal and sav ings. It provides for the repeal ofthe Resolution o f the Government o f India, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances andPension s (Department of Personnel and Training) issued vide No. 371/12/2002-AVD-Ill,

dated the 21stApril. 2004 asam ended vide Re solu tionofe ven number, dated the 29thApri1,2004.It further provides that notwithstanding the said repeal, anything do ne or any actiontaken under the said Resolution be deem ed to have been done or taken under the proposed

legislation.


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MEMORANDUM REGARDING DELEGATED LEGISLATIONSub-clause (1)o f clause 24 e mp ow enth eC entr al G overnment to make, by notificationin the Official Gazette, rules for carrying out the provisions of the proposed legislation. Sub -

clause (2 ) enumerates the matters in respect of which such rules may be made. Thesematters, inter olio, specifies the procedure for disclosure in writing or appropriate electronicmeans under sub-clause (4) o f clause 5; the manner in which the discreet inquiry is to bemad e by the Com petent Authority under su bs la us e (2) ofc la us e 4; the additional matter inrespect o f which the Com petent Authority may exercise the powers o f a civil court undersub-clause (2) o f clause 6; the form o f annual report under sub-clause (1) o f clause 22.

2. Clause 25 em pow ers the State Governm ent to make, by notification in the OfficialGa zette, rules, for carrying out the provisions o f the p;oposed legislation.

3. Clause 2 6 e mpo wers the Competent Authority, with the previous approval o f theCentral G overn ment or the Sta te Government, to make, by notification in the O fficial Gazette,regulations. consistent with the provisions of the proposed legislation and the rules madethereunder to provide for all matters for which provision is expedient fo r the purposes o fgiving effect to the provisions of the proposed legislation.

4. C lause 27 provides that rules and regulations made by the Central G overnment arerequired to be laid before each H ouse of Parliamen t and rules and regulation made by theState Government are required to be laid before each House o f th e State Legislature.

5. T he matters in respect o f which rules and regulations may be m ade a re matters ofprocedure or administrative detail and it is not practicable to provide for them in the Billitself. T h e delegation o f legislative power is therefore of a normal character.


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to establish a m eshanism to receive complaints relating to disclosure on any allegation ofcorruption or wilful misuse of pow er or wilful misuse o f discretion against any publicservant and to inquire or c ause an inquiry into such disclosure and to provideadequ ate safegu ards against victimization o f the person making such comp laint andfor matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.

-- (Shri Prithviroj C h m . Minister of Statefor Persunnel,

disclosurebill 2010 eng

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